Mop



J. GLOVER June 28, 1938.-

} MOP Filed Jan. 2. 1937 Patented June 28, "1 938 UNITED. STATES mu lPATENT orrici;

John Glover, Chicago, Ill., assignorpby mesne assignments, to MidwayChemical 00., Jersey City, N. J., a corporation of New JerseyApplication January 2,1937, Serial No. 118,833

.. tively large area againstthe mop cloth when in use; to provide a mopwherein a sheet of. metal provides a relatively large, relatively'rig'idpresser plate for engaging the mop cloth over a relatively large areafor pressing against the floor or other surface to be'mopped and whereinthe sheet of metal is provided with an integral jaw member cooperatingwith a relatively shiftable jaw member between which the mop clothisYclamped; to provide a 'mophead formed of an integral piece of sheetmetal having a connection for the mop stick socket and wherein the sheetmetal is provided with struck-up sections which form a mop jaw, hingeportions for connection to the stick socket and guides for thecooperative mop jaw and, in addition, provides a relatively largepresser plate over which the mop cloth extends, and which presser plateserves to provide a relatively large surface for pressing the mop clothagainst the surface to be cleaned; to provide a mophead which is formedwith a single pivotal- ,provide a jawreleasing mechanism for a mopwherein the shifting ofthe releasing member is independent ofthejposition of themop stick;

" to provide anadjusting member 'between the shiftable jaw sectionsofthe mop; and the actuatable clamping mechanism which, is: quicklyshiftable to various set positions to accommodate variant thicknessesofmop, which construction cooperatesincompact relationship with themopireleasing actuator; to provide a mop head wherein the shiftableclamping jaw is pushed upwardly in, a toggle-like action to clamping.position, as distinguished from being pulled into clamping position; toprovide these and other objects of invention as will be apparent from aperusal of the following specification when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing, wherein: t r

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a preferred form of myimproved mop; 1

Figure 2 is a side sectional view thereof;

55 v Figure 3 is a section online 3-3' of Figure 1;.

...Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the jaw ad justing'mechanism; and 7Figure 5 isa section on the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

In general, my improved mop comprises a mop head having a jaw, acooperative jaw member with meansto produce relative movement between'said jaw members for the insertion, clamping and withdrawal of a clothmop from the head; a mop stick socket having ,a pivotal connection' tothe mop head, ,a jaw clamping a.ctu-. ator. preferably provided withmeans for adjust.- ing the relative movement between the jaws, and

lastly while not necessarily, a wringer attachment for cooperation withthe cloth or fabric mop when in position on the mop head.

. In" order to provide a simple, economically constructed and assembledmop, one having few parts, of cheap manufacture and assembly, and onehaving simplicity and efiiciency in operation, I prefer to'form the mophead of a single piece of sheet metal 2 having an extended, preferablysubstantially, but not necessarily, square shape. This surface is flaton. the bottom, as shown in Figure 3. The front edge of the. flat plate2 is formed in any desired manner to provide aijawl l. In the presentinstance the jaw is formed by curling the front edge over, upwardly,and-then inwardly in overhanging relation to the upper. side of theplate 2. At the ends the curvedoverp'ortion is notched as at 6 and 8 toreceive the ends of a cooperating jaw.

Ems-cooperating. jawmember is preferably formed and arranged inconnection with the mop head- 2 so that it nests clampingly within thecurled-over jaw portiond of the presser plate. Specifically, I. preferto arrange the jaw so that it is pushed into clamping engagement, and Iprefer to arrange and to form it of heavy gauged wire bentsubstantiallyin the form illustrated in Figure 1.. This jaw isillustrated at Win the drawing. and is shown as provided with opposedfree ends I2 and 1.4 which slide in holes. in upstanding ears l6 and I8struck up from the metal of the presser plate 2. An actuator in the formofa bar 20 is provided with a hole through which actuator.

are pivotally riveted, as at 32 and 34. The stick socket is formed ofsheet metal in any approved fashion to receive and clampingly hold theend of the mop stick, whereby the stick may shift from a pivotalposition lying somewhat in the plane of the presser plate to a positionat right-angles thereto.

In addition, I prefer to utilize the pivots 32 and 34 for pivotallymounting the jaw actuating lever 36. This lever is made out of a singlepiece of sheet metal folded upon itself as at 38, and provided withoutstanding cars 40 and 42 .for engagement with the fingers. From thefolded portion 38 there extends rearwardly two spaced apart arms 44 and46 which spread outwardly and rearwardly as at 48 and 50 and are piercedfor pivotal connection to the pins 32 and 34, re-

' spectively.

The portion 44 of this actuator is provided with an opening for thereception of a cross-pin 52. This cross-pin is provided with an enlargedend 54 and a spring 56 which bears against the head of the cross-pin,normally urging the enlarged end 54 into position to engage a number ofspaced-apart enlarged holes 58 in the connector bar 20. A narrower slotGil joins each one of the holes, and the width of this slot correspondswith the diameter of a smaller shank of the pin 52, so that when thehead is pushed inwardly the smaller shank will slide along the holesinto whichever one is selected, but when the head of the shank isreleased or pushed outwardly by the pin, the enlarged end 54 will enterthe slot and thus hold the members 20 and 44 in such selectivelyadjusted position. By means of this construction, the clamping throw ofthe jaw l6 relative to the stationary head 4 may be adjusted for mopfabrics of variant thicknesses.

The margin of the presser plate is preferably provided with a channeledportion 55 for strength or neatness and may be provided with one or moreslots at 62 for lightness. It will be noted that, by reason of myimproved construction, the jaw shifting mechanism of the mop head isconstantly accessible and may be quickly and easily operated,irrespective of the position of the mop stick, that is, whether or notthe mop sticksocket is in substantially right angular position withrespect to the plate 2 or is in a common plane therewith. It will alsobe appreciated that the mechanism for adjusting the throw of theclamping jaw is likewise readily accessible.

By reason of the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided a mosteconomical type of arrangement wherein a flat sheet metal plate isutilized to provide an extended broad flat surface for receiving andspreading out the mop'fabric and for pressing the mop fabric against thefloor or other surface to be mopped and, in addition, I have utilizedthis sheet metal plate to economically form one of the jaw members. Ihave also utilized struck-up portions of this plate to form bearings orguides for the shiftable jaw member and for providing a pivotalconnection, not only for the mop stick, but also for the jaw It willalso be seen that I have utilized a common pivot for attaching the jawactuator and mop stick to this plate or jaw.

This type of construction readily adapts itself to a type of mop whereinthe stick is provided with a mop wringing mechanism, and in the presentinstance I have provided the stick socket 22 with an aperture forreceiving a shank 64 of heavy wire or the like, one end of which isprovided with a crank 66 having a handle 68, and.

the other end of which is bent in the form of an oblong bow 10 throughwhich the fabric mop 12 is looped, as shown in Figure 2, the other endof the fabric mop being looped over the stationary jaw 4 of the mop headand clampingly held therein by means of the shiftable jaw H]. The mopwringer handle and bow portion 10 are held in desired position by meansof a coiled spring 14 which acts against the cross section of the bow land against the side of the stick socket 22.

Inasmuch as the shank portion 64 of this mop wringer passes through thesocket and the stick, it holds them in assembled position. The spring 14serves to hold the mop wringer handle 68 in out of the way position.When it is desired to wring the mop, the wringer handle is turned whichwinds the mop spirally with relation to its clamped position between thejaws whereby to wring out moisture and water from the mop.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A mop, including a flat sheet metal plate, provided with a jaw memberforming an integral part thereof, a second jaw member shiftablycooperating with said first jaw member, said fiat plate having integralstruck up ears, a stick socket pivotally connected to said ears, jawactuating means pivotally connected to said struck-up cars by the samepivot that pivotally mounts the stick socket to the rears, and aconnection between said actuating means and said shiftable jaw.

2. A mop including a flat plate having an integral jaw portion, ashiftably cooperating jaw portion, guides struck up from the fiat plateadapted to slidingly receive extensions of the shiftable jaw portion,said flat plate having a pair of struck-up ears, a stick socket, and ashiftable jaw actuating means, common means for pivoting the sticksocket andjaw actuating means to the spaced struck-up ears, and apivotal connection between the jaw actuating means and the shiftablejaw.

3. A mop, including a flat sheet metal plate having its forward edgecurled inwardly to provide a jaw, a shiftable jaw nesting within thecurled portion of the metal plate and having rearward extensions, guidescarried by the upper surface of the sheet metal plate to slidinglyreceive the jaw extensions, an actuator pivotally connected at thecentral portion of said shiftable jaw, a

stick socket connected to the rear portion of 4. A mop including a flatsheet metal plate having its forward edge curled inwardly to provide ajaw, a shiftable jaw nesting within the curled portion of the metalplate and having rearward extensions, guides carried by the uppersurface of the sheet metal plate to slidingly receive the jawextensions, an actuator pivotally connected at the central portion ofsaid shiftable jaw, a stick socket connected to the rear portion of theplate, a lever pivotally connected to said plate, and means providing anadjustable connection between the lever and said actuator to vary thethrow of the shiftable jaw relatively to said stationary jaw.

5. A mop comprising a sheet metal plate provided with an integral fixedjaw portion, a shiftable'jaw mounted on the upper surface thereof forsliding movement toward and from said jaw portion,a stick socketpivotally connected to said plate, a lever pivotally connected to saidplate,

an actuator pivotally connected to said lever and to said shiftable jawfor pushing the jaw into clamping engagement with said stationary jaw.

6. A mop, including a sheet. metal flat plate having its front surfacecurled upwardlyfand inwardly to overhang'the upper surface of the plate,a wire jaw bent ne'stingly to lie within the overhanging portion of thefirst-mentioned jaw, said jaw having two rearwardlyextending ends,

tabs struck upwardly from the sheet metal plate I r and perforated to'slidingly receive the wire ends of the jaw, an actuator pivotallyconnected to the central portion 'of the jaw, and a lever mounted onsaid plate and pivotally connected to said actuator whereby on'movementof said lever the jaw is movedtoward and "from the stationary jawp 7. Amop, comprising a fiat sheet metal plate of-relatively large area, saidplate having its front "edge curled upwardly and inwardly in overhangingrelation to the upper'surface of the plate to receivea fabric mop, themop extending over the curved front edge and beneath the sheet metalplate; a jaw shiftingly mounted on the upper surface or, the'sheet metalplate and having its front edgeadapted nestingly to fit within theoverhanging portion of the stationary jaw, and actuating means mountedon the upper surface of the sheetmetal plate and connected to said jawfor shifting it to clamping or releasing position, and a stick socketpivotally connected rality of holes connected by smaller slots, a trans?verse pin pivotally interconnecting the registering perforations in :thelever with the slots and holes in the actuator, saidcross-pin having anenlarged head and a'narrow shank, spring 'meansfor urge ing theenlarged'head into positionto vpivotally 7 said shiftable jaw.

interconnect the lever with one or more: of the holes in the actuator,the narrower slots inter-' connecting the holes being sufiicient in sizeto 1 freely receive the narrower shank of the pin when the same ispushed into registration therewith.

9. In a mop, the combination of a sheet. metal plate having its frontedge formed as a jaw, a

second jaw mounted on the top of said plate and adapted slidingly to 1engage said plate to move toward and from the first-mentioned jaw, astick 1o socket pivoted to the uppermost portion, of said;

plate at the rear'thereof, an actuator connected to said second jaw, alever pivotally connected tor said plate and extending forwardly of thepivotal I connection between the sticksocket and the plate,

and a pivotal connection between the lever and the actuator,.the forwardportion of said lever being provided with a portion to 'be grasped bythe fingers. 5

10. In a mop, the combination of a sheet metal plate having its frontedge formed as a jaw, a a second jaw mounted'on the top ofsaid plate andadapted slidingly to engage said plate to move toward andfrom thefirst-mentioned jaw, astick socket pivoted to the uppermost portion ofsaidv plate at the rear thereof, an actuator connected to said secondjaw, a lever pivotally connected to said plate and extending forwardlyof thepivotal connection between the stick socket and the plate, and apivotal connection between the lever and the actuator, the forwardportion of said lever being provided with a portion to be grasped byfthe fingers, saidpivotal connection between said lever and said actuatorhavingmeans for varying the throw of the jaw upon predetermined movementof the lever.

11. A'mop including a fiat sheet metal plate pro-v vided with a fixedjaw member upstanding from the surface of the plate adjacent an edgethereof, a shiftable jaw member slidably mounted on the upper surfacethereof cooperating with said first i mentioned jaw member ,-a sticksocket pivotally connected to said plate, jaw actuating means pivotallyconnectedto said plate, said jaw actuating means comprising a toggleactuable in a U plane, transverse to the plane of said plate and aactuating means and connection between said JOHN GLOVER.

